Final answer:
A tank vehicle typically carries liquids or gases of 1,000 gallons or more. Long-haul 'big rigs' have larger tanks that enable them to carry vast quantities of cargo and travel long distances, while an automobile gasoline tank holds approximately 13 gallons of fuel. This capacity affects both vehicle logistics and environmental impact due to CO₂ emissions.
Step-by-step explanation:
A tank vehicle is typically described as a vehicle that is used to carry liquids or gases of 1,000 gallons or more. When considering the uses and capacities of tank vehicles, it's important to note that different liquids have different densities which will affect the weight of the liquid when considering cargo regulations and vehicle capacities. For example, a typical automobile gasoline tank might hold around 50 liters (13 gallons), with gasoline having a density of 0.75 kg/L. Therefore, an automobile tank would weigh around 38 kg.
When speaking of larger, long-haul trucking 'big rigs,' these vehicles have much larger tanks, often carrying two fuel tanks, each holding about 150 gallons (570 L; 425 kg). These large tanks enable the trucks to travel long distances, such as 2,000 miles, with their significant cargo capacity of approximately 20 tons.
Understanding the characteristics of these tanks, especially relating to liquid capacity, is crucial for those in fields related to transportation, logistics, and environmental science, especially because of the CO₂ emissions involved. For instance, a single tank of gasoline can produce a substantial amount of CO₂, approximately 110 kg based on the factor-of-three ratio of CO₂ mass to input fuel mass. Awareness of the volume and mass of fuel a tank vehicle can carry, alongside the environmental impact, plays a vital role in various scientific and practical applications.